


Leaving Day

by tablelamp



Category: Witch Mountain (Movies - Hough)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24850786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tablelamp/pseuds/tablelamp
Summary: On Witch Mountain, they honor the anniversary of the day they left their homeworld and those who didn't make it to Earth.  They call it Leaving Day.Tia doesn't know how to feel about that.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Leaving Day

Everyone is so happy to see the two of them when they arrive. There are so many hugs that Tony jokes afterwards that his arms feel like they're going to fall off. It's nice to be wanted because of who you are and not what you can do for people. It reminds Tia of life with the Malones. Some of the adults can talk without moving their mouths, like she can, and Tony gives her a triumphant look when one of them moves something with their minds. They aren't strange here. So many others can do what they can do. They won't have to hide.

And they don't have to hide, exactly. But Tia expected that life with the other castaways would be easy, and it isn't.

It's small things, mostly. Things like how so many of the adults say, "Thank the blessed stars!" when they're happy about something. Things like commiseration about how hard it was to grow onta plants on the homeworld, and how they flourish here. Things like casual mentions of historical figures or important politicians that Tia has never heard of.

Things like Leaving Day.

Uncle Bene explains to them one evening that they won't have school the next day because it's Leaving Day, and Tia looks at Tony, wondering what that means. Tony looks back and shrugs.

"It memorializes the day we left our home," Uncle Bene says, though Tia can tell from his feelings that he is sad they don't remember. How could they remember? She and Tony were so little when they left the homeworld that they barely remembered Uncle Bene. "We cook traditional dishes and remember those lost to us."

"Oh," Tony says quietly. 

Tia doesn't say anything. She thought this would be a place where things were easy, where she and Tony fit in without a second thought. But they were among humans so long that Tia realizes most of the traditions she knows are human, not castaway. Because the castaways have avoided humans for the most part, they don't know human customs as well as Tony and Tia do. Tia wants to tell them, wants to explain why she's so disappointed that they don't send Valentine's Day cards to each other or eat lasagna, but so far, they don't seem that interested in human things. Sometimes Tia wonders if the castaways want the two of them to stop living the human way and live their way, but Tia doesn't want to give up her life before this place.

"Are you awake?" Tony asks that night. They were offered their own rooms, but both Tia and Tony are a little scared of being forced to separate from each other.

Tia nods. "Yes."

Tony rolls over to face her. "What are you thinking about?"

"Leaving Day," Tia says.

Tony nods. "Me too. Do you think we'll have to do anything?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Things are different here." Tony picks up his harmonica and looks at it.

"You can play if you want to," Tia suggests.

Tony shakes his head. "I don't think it'll show me anything." He puts it back down again.

Tia feels bad enough about what she's going to say next to say it silently. _I miss the Malones._

"Me too," Tony says. "Uncle Bene keeps asking me what I remember about home." He shrugs. "Nothing."

"I don't remember either," Tia says. "But they want us to so much."

Tony looks relieved. "They do? I thought I was imagining it."

Tia shakes her head. "No. I can feel it."

"Can you hear what they want us to remember?" Tony asks hopefully. "If you can, you can tell me, and then we can pretend we know it."

"I can't," Tia says. "And anyway, we'd just be hiding again. Except some of them could probably tell we were lying."

"Oh," Tony says, disappointed. "Right."

Tia stares at the ceiling. "I don't mind forgetting Mr. Deranian and Mr. Bolt. But I don't want to forget any of the people who were nice to us, like Mr. O'Day and the Malones."

"Me neither," Tony says, worried. "Do you think they want us to?"

"Not exactly," Tia says. "I'm not sure what they want."

Tony nods. "Yeah." He's quiet for a minute. "What do you think happens when we get older? Do you think they'll expect us to stay here forever?"

Tia shakes her head. "I don't know. I don't know if they know either."

They stop talking, but they don't go to sleep for a while. Tony goes first; Tia can always feel it when he falls asleep. She can feel the adults in nearby rooms sleeping too.

There's nothing she can do about any of this, but it's hard not to worry.

***

Everyone gets up early to watch the sun rise on Leaving Day, Tia discovers. She and Tony dutifully roll out of bed and pad outside in their pajamas, where they discover that everybody else is dressed up. Uncle Bene gives them a warm look to let them know they haven't done anything wrong by not getting dressed. Tia is grateful.

As the first few rays of sun shine over the mountains, one of their neighbors--Sali--says, "For our new home and our survival, we thank the blessed stars."

"We thank the blessed stars," everyone around Tony and Tia choruses. 

"And we remember those who aren't here to celebrate Leaving Day with us," Uncle Bene says.

"We remember," the others say, aloud and mentally.

There is silence then, until the sun is fully risen. Tia wonders what the others are thinking about. She can feel a mix of gratitude and sorrow radiating from the adults around her.

There's a celebratory breakfast, and then a book is passed around where everybody is supposed to write a page about what the last year has been like. Tia doesn't know what to write. Everything she's experienced in the last year wouldn't fit on a page. Finally she writes, "This year my brother Tony and I came to Witch Mountain," and passes the book to Tony.

There's some kind of ball game after lunch, which Tony is excited about at first. It's just enough like baseball to be confusing that it isn't baseball, and after Tony makes his third or fourth mistake, he is politely asked to sit down. Tia doesn't even need her powers to feel his disappointment. Tony loves sports. It isn't fair.

Everything comes to a head before dinner, when they all sit in a circle and share what they remember about their homeworld. Tony's turn comes first.

"I remember Uncle Bene," he says, trying so hard not to disappoint anyone. This is apparently an acceptable answer, according to the smiles and nods from around the circle.

Now it's Tia's turn. What can she say? She remembers Uncle Bene and the ocean, and nothing before that.

She doesn't realize she's run away from the circle until she's outside, sitting on her favorite rock and facing the sunset, hugging her knees to herself.

She's out there for a few minutes by herself before she feels Uncle Bene approaching.

"What's wrong?" he asks quietly. "Do the memories upset you?"

"There aren't any," Tia says, shaking her head. "For either of us. We were too little." She turns to look at Uncle Bene. "We can't miss somewhere we don't know. Not like you do."

"You can feel that?" Uncle Bene asks.

"Tony can too," Tia says. "Not the same way I do, but he knows. Just like he knows you're disappointed in us."

That surprises Uncle Bene. "What do you mean, disappointed?"

"You want us to be like you," Tia says. "And we're not. And that makes you sad."

"Ah," Uncle Bene says. He sits on the rock beside her. "I'm sorry you two have been feeling all that, and sorry I didn't notice sooner. We are sad, but it's because we experienced some things on the homeworld that we're sad you'll never get to experience. We're sad because we lost the place we think of as home, and some of the people too. All sorts of things make us think of the places and people we've lost, sometimes even you. But that's not your fault. We're happy you found us."

That makes sense, but Tia's still angry about earlier. "You shouldn't have made Tony stop playing ball. He wanted to join in and you wouldn't let him."

"You're right," Uncle Bene says. "It's new for us too, you know. Having children around who are so human."

"You don't like it," Tia says.

"We're not used to it," Uncle Bene says. "But we'll learn. And we'll give you the chance to learn from us if you want to."

Tia nods. It isn't that she doesn't want to know about where they came from. She's interested in that. It's just that they don't always seem very interested in where she and Tony came from.

Uncle Bene must feel some of what Tia's thinking about, because his facial expression changes, and he looks ashamed. "I'm sorry, Tia. I didn't realize."

Tia shrugs.

Uncle Bene thinks for a moment. "Maybe we should have an Earth Day too."

"Like planting trees?" Tia says with a frown. They talked about Earth Day at school.

"No," Uncle Bene says. "To celebrate Earth. What do you think--could we learn--what did you call it? Bass ball?"

"Baseball," Tia says, giggling a little.

Uncle Bene smiles. "Would you and Tony like to teach us?"

"I'd like it," Tia says. "Tony'd love it."

"You and Tony should talk it over," Uncle Bene says. "Think about what you'd like us to know. Things you'd like to teach us."

Tia thinks for a moment. "Can we make lasagna?"

"We can," Uncle Bene agrees. "Whatever it is."

Tia laughs. "Okay."

"And if you're feeling sad, you can always tell us," Uncle Bene says. "Tony too. We'll try to help if we can." He looks at the sky. "Sometimes we're so used to knowing how someone else is feeling we forget to ask if there's anything we can do about it."

Tia nods. "I don't want to go back to the circle."

"You don't have to," Uncle Bene says. "We can stay right here."

 _Tony,_ Tia calls silently. _Come outside._

Tony joins them a few minutes later. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry about the game," Uncle Bene says.

Tony shrugs. "It's okay. I didn't know the rules."

 _He wants you to teach him baseball,_ Tia says.

Tony brightens. "Really?"

"Really what?" Uncle Bene asks.

Tony frowns. "You can't hear her?"

"Not when she isn't talking to me," Uncle Bene says.

Tony sits on the rock beside them. "She said you want to learn about baseball."

"I think it's only fair," Uncle Bene says. "And you can make me sit out if I don't follow the rules."

Tony laughs. Tia's glad he's so easy to cheer up.

Together, the three of them watch the sun go down and the stars come out.

"Someday I'll learn the names of these," Uncle Bene says, clearly thinking of other stars in another solar system.

Tia thinks she will too.


End file.
